According to comments from wife, Auburndale man had suffered from seizures.

Published: Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7:48 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7:38 p.m.

AUBURNDALE | A father of two who had been struggling with health problems died after apparently jumping from the State Road 559 overpass onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 4, where he was hit by a vehicle Monday morning, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Facts

FUND

A fund to help the Weed family with medical bills has been set up on rally.org.

According to Aimee Weed's posts, the couple were Auburndale High graduates and high school sweethearts. They have two children, a 9-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son. The close-knit family loved going to St. Augustine.

Aimee Weed posted a short biography about her husband. She concluded with the story of the first day she found him unconscious — he had somehow made sure his then-5-month-old son was in the crib before passing out.

"BJ is a devoted father who will do anything for his children, even at the sacrifice of his own self," she wrote.

<p>AUBURNDALE | A father of two who had been struggling with health problems died after apparently jumping from the State Road 559 overpass onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 4, where he was hit by a vehicle Monday morning, the Florida Highway Patrol said.</p><p>Billyjoe Frank Weed, 32, of Auburndale jumped from the overpass shortly after 7 a.m., the FHP said.</p><p>In the afternoon, his family gathered at the Sam Efurd Fire Station for support.</p><p>Weed's widow, Aimee, has been a firefighter for the department since 2009.</p><p>"It's been a rough day for everyone," Fire Chief Stuart McCutcheon said.</p><p>According to a social media page Aimee Weed set up on the fundraising website rally.org, her husband has been suffering from seizures since July. She was not available for comment.</p><p>"In July 2013, I came home from a 48-hour shift as a firefighter, to find the baby screaming in the crib and my husband unconscious on the floor," she wrote.</p><p>Since then, he had several more episodes, she wrote. He also had severe arthritis in his back and neck, Tourette syndrome and a bone disease that was causing him to lose his teeth.</p><p>"This devoted father can't be alone with his kids until he is placed on medicine for his seizures," she wrote 13 days ago. "Please help us rally around BJ."</p><p>After thousands of dollars and no diagnosis, the family was having trouble affording the medical bills.</p><p>Aimee Weed posted a week ago that her husband finally had an appointment for an electroencephalogram, which measures electrical activity of the brain.</p><p>There are no updates after that.</p><p>"Our thoughts and prayers are with our friend, firefighter and city employee Aimee Weed," McCutcheon said. </p><p>Sean Klotzbach, 42, of Dover, was driving a 2014 Ford F-150 eastbound when Billyjoe Weed jumped, the FHP said. The truck hit him. Klotzbach was not injured. </p><p>According to Aimee Weed's posts, the couple were Auburndale High graduates and high school sweethearts. They have two children, a 9-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son. The close-knit family loved going to St. Augustine.</p><p>Aimee Weed posted a short biography about her husband. She concluded with the story of the first day she found him unconscious — he had somehow made sure his then-5-month-old son was in the crib before passing out.</p><p>"BJ is a devoted father who will do anything for his children, even at the sacrifice of his own self," she wrote.</p><p>Sara Drumm can be reached at sara.drumm@newschief.com 863-401-6971.</p>